Tack-fastened-button-attaching machine



June 24.- 1,499,270

F. E. WARNER ET AL,

TACK FASTENED BUTTON ATTACHI NG MACHINE Fil'ed Dec. l 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Elm who June 24, 1924. 1,499,276

F. E. WARNER ET AL TACK FASTENED BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE Filed Dec.-1, 1922 4 SheetsSheet 2 1,499,270 F. E. WARNER ET AL A TACK FASTENED BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 1, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet s W f WM Gwen 1214.

flame 24 19249 F. E; WARNER ET AL TACK FASTBNED BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet &

c: v v x l! b fi H Ell v Filed Dec. 1, 1922 Patented June 24, 1924.

TED STATES 1,49,270 PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK E. WARNER, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, AND AUGUSTUS H. CO'SGROVE,

OF UNION HILL, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS T0 SCOVILL MANUFACTURING COM- PANY, 0F WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT. .v

TACK-FASTENED-BUTTON-ATTACI-IING MACHINE.

Application filed December 1, 1922. Serial No. 604,279.

To all whom, it may oonccmt:

Be it known that we, FRANK E. WARNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVaterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of (fmmecticut, and AUGUSTUS H. Coscnovn. a citizen of the United States, residing at Union Hill. in the county of Hudson and State of N cw Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tack-Fastened-Button-Attaching Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to provide a mechanism adapted to form a part. of a machine for attaching or setting tackfastened buttons. whereby the speed at which the machine may be operated may be increased, without endangering the effective'operation of the mechanisms of thc machine which perform the attaching or setting operation on the button-attaching tack within the button.

In machines of this general type with which we are familiar, mechanisms are provided for substantially simultaneously feeding a single tack and a single button to a point of the machine at which the setting operation takes place. The tack is fed to position upon the top of an anvil provided with a pair of cooperating spring-actuated jaws adapted to hold the lack in proper position upon the anvil. and there is a setting plunger having adjacent to it a pair of jaws adapted to hold a button in position to be fed to the tack, these button-holding jaws with the button between them adapted to be moved into attaching relation to the tack by means of the plunger. and the pressure of the button upon the material to which it is being attached during the attaching or setting operation functioning to depress and spread apart the tack-holding jaws out of tack-engaging relation, to thereby free the tack from its position upon the anvil and permit of itsremoval along with the ma terial to which the button is attached.

We have discovered that it is to some extent due to the above described automatic operation of the tack-holding jaws that it has heretofore been impossible to construct a machine of this type in which a speed'of operation commensurate. with the manipir.

lative speed of an operator can befpractically attained, and it 1s t) the remedying of this particular defect that our invention is primarily direct-ed.

We have found that by positively actuating the tack-holding jaws was to move them out of tack-holding position in proper timed relation to the button-attaching or setting action of the machine, a greater speed of operation may be obtained without in any degree sacrificing accuracy or case of operation, but, on the contrary, enhancing these qualities.

The invention consists in a machine for attaching or setting tack-fastened buttons,

having a setting anvil and a setting plunger. A tack raceway communlcates with the setting anvil and a button raceway communicateswith the setting plunger. 'Iack-holding jaws are arranged in operative relation t the anvil and button-holding jaws are arranged in operative relation to the plunger, the tack-holding jaws being positively operated to release a tack held therebctwccn upon the anvil in timed relation to the descent of the plunger. And the invention consists further in various details of construction including manually controlled means for separating the tackholding jaws in case of failure of the button feed or other emergencies, as we will proceed now to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure l is a side elevation of a machine embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical sectional elevation showing the main coordinated working parts embodying the invention. Fig. 4 is an enlarged front view of a portion of the machine, parts being broken away to show the arrangement of the track holding jaws. Figs. 5 and 6 show two positions of the tack-holding jaws with relation to the plunger and button-holding jaws. Fig. 7 is a rear perspective view of the carrier for the tack-holding jaws, and Fig. 8 is a front perspective view of this carrier with the tack-holding jaws mount- 'ed thereon.

' Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2,

wherein we have shown a double machine. that is a machmehavmg two button-settlng mechanisms with their associated parts,

- other driven from the same source of power, 1 is the bed of the machine mounted upon legs 2, and rising from the bed are the frames 3 which carry the various operating parts comprising the button-setting mechanisms and their feed hoppers. chutes and the like.

The button-setting mechanism comprises essentially a setting anvil 4 (see Fig. 3) and a setting plunger 5, the anvil being stationary and the plunger adapted to be reciprocated by means of a lever 6 mounted upon an eccentric 7 whereby the stroke of the plunger may be regulated. This lever 6 is connected with the plunger by a link 8 and is actuated through an arm 9 provided with an adjustable connection 10 and yoke 11 by a cam 12 which cooperates with a roller 13 carried by the yoke 11, the yoke 11 sliding upon a carrying shaft 15. This shaft 15 is driven by gears 16 and 17 (see Figs. 1 and 2) from a back-shaft 18 illustrated as fitted with a drive pulley 19 to which power may be supplied by means of a belt from any suitable source, but obviously gear or shaft drive or psower transmission means may be uttons are deposited througha feed chute 20 in a hopper 21 rotated by belt 22 and pulleys 23 and 24. The pulley 24 is mounted on a countershaft 25 driven by belt 26 and pulleys 27 and 28 from back shaft 18. -The buttons are fed to a raceway 29 provided with a cut-off 3O operated through a lever 31 by a cam 32 which coacts with a roller 33 carried by the lever 31, the roller 33 being held in operative engagement with the cam 32 by means of a spring 34 connected with a. part of the stationary machine frame 3. The button cut-off 30 is held in normal button-interrupting relation to the chute by a spring 35 having one of its ends connected to the frame 3 and its other end connected to the cut-off 30. Operation of the cut-off 30 through the lever 31 and cam 32 will permit a button to drop down into a button feed slide 36 in which operates a button pusher 37 connected through a pin 38 and slotted lever 39 with a cam 40. The face of this cam operates upon a roller 41 carried by the lever 39, and the lever is pivoted substantially midway of its length as at 42 upon the machine frame. Cooperating with the button feed slide 36 and normally in alignment therewith is a pair of buttonholding jaws 43 mounted upon the bearing member 44 of the plunger 5, so as to be slidable in unison with the plunger 5. These jaws are of the same type as those shown in connection with the machine of the patent of F. E. Stanley and G. R. Leggett, No. 1,183,822, granted May 16, 1916, and, inasmuch as they form no part of this invention, Wlll not be further described except to say that they are ada ted to spread apart after havmg carried t e button down to tack used.

block 14 mounted upon the cam on a roller 61 carried by connected with the link engaging position to thereby release the but: ton as it is set upon an article. "When the" jaws are in theirliormal position as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, operation of the button pusher 37 will push a button out of the slide 36 and into the button-holding cavity formed in the jaws 43.

Tacks are supplied through a feed chute 45 to a feed hopper 46 rotated by a belt 47 and pulleys 48 and 49, the pulley 49 being carried by the countershaft 25. From the hopper 46 the tacks are fed to a tack raceway 50 provided with a cut-off 51, operated simultaneously with the operation of the button cut-off 30 by means of a lever 52 having a link 53 provided with a pin 54 which pin cooperates with a slot 55 in the cut-off. The lever 52 shaft of the lever 31 and is operated therewith by the cam 32 through roller 33. The cut-off 51 is held normally in feed-interrupting position as shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 4 bymeans of a spring 56. The operation of the cut-off 51 permits a tack to be fed from the raceway 50 into a tack slide 57 leading to the setting anvil, and in this slide operates a tack pusher 58 (see Fig. 3) adapted to be reciprocated through a link 59 by means of a cam 60 which operates upa sliding frame 62 59. The roller 61 is held in engagement with the cam 60 by a pair of springs 63 connected with an extension 64 of the sliding frame 62 and with the frame 3 of the machine. In its reciprocation, the tack pusher 58 recedes to a point in back of the tack raceway and then advances with a tack picked up from the discharge end of said raceway until it reaches a point where the tack is positioned upon the top of the anvil 4.

Mounted for vertical sliding reciprocation upon the anvil 4 is a carrier 65 having a pair of rearwardly extending lugs 66 between which operates one end of a lever 67 pivoted on a shaft'68 mounted in the frame 3. lever carries at its opposite end a roller 69 which bears upon an internal cam 70, the roller being held in contact with the cam by means of a spring 71 passing through the bed 1 of the machine, and having its lower end fixedly attached to a stationary part of the machine (not shown). It will be seen that by this arrangement the rotation of the cam will cause a vertical reci'procation of the carrier 65 relative to the anvil 4.

Mounted for pivotal action upon the carrier 65 are the tack-holding jaws 72, which lie alongside the anvil 4 and the upper ends of which are turned inwardly and provided with tack-gripping portions 72. These jaws are held normally in tack-engaging relation by means of a spring 73 herein shown as formed of a piece of spring wire, the

is keyed upon the This.

loop end of which extends rearwardly through an aperture 74 in the frame, and is by this arrangement positioned out of the way of the operator.

It sometimes happens that during the operation of the machine a tack will be advanced to setting position, but there will be no button simultaneously advanced for cooperation with this tack. When this occurs, it will be necessary to remove the tack in order to prevent possible fouling or jamming of the machine, and, to this end we provide a manually "operated device for retracting the carrier 65 and with it the tack-holding jaw 72 so as to free thetack from its position upon the anvil. This manually operated device comprises an arm 75 pivoted at 76 in a bracket 77 carried by the bed 1, and through this arm and having a loose connection therewith extends a rod 78, the upper end of which is formed as a hook 79 which embraces the upper edge of the forward end of the lever 67. It will be seen that by downward pressure upon the outer end of arm 75, lever 67, and with it carrier 65 and jaws 72, will be depressed and the jaws sliding over the inclined or tapered upper end 80 of the anvil 4 will separate and release the tacln During the reciprocation of the carrier 65 by the action of the cam and lever mechanism, the arm 75 will be retained in its raised position, as shown in Fig. 3, by means of a spring 81.

The operation of the machine is substantially as follows :If the tack and button chutes or either of them contain no tacks '21 may be rotated by the hoppers 46 and hand. This hand rotation of these hoppers is permitted by means of the pawl and ratchet mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1, which is upon each of the pulleys 23 and 48, and comprises a ratchet 82 and a cooperating pawl 83. This pawl and ratchet mechanism also serves to prevent rotation of the hoppers inreverse direction. As the hoppers are rotated, the raceways will fill with buttons and tacks and when sufficient buttons and tacks are in the operation of the machine may be or buttons, respectively,

raceways, started.

An ordinary pedal-operated jaw clutch is provided, so that depression of the pedal and immediate release thereof will allow the machine to function through one completecycle and then stop. Continued depression of the pedal will permit the ma chine to function continuously. This type of pedal and clutch mechanism is well known and would appear to need no further explanation here.

In order to set a button upon a piece of cloth. themachine is operated through a. complete cycle, with the cloth positioned above or resting upon the tops of the tackholding jaws 72, and the various operations of the machine are as follows :The tack and button cutofi's 51 and 30 respectively will operate simultaneously to allow a single tack and a single button to drop into position in the slides 57 and 36 respectively. Then the tack pusher 58 will be advanced by the rotation of its cooperating cam 60, and the button pusher 37 will be advanced by cooperation of its lever 39 and roller 41 with cam 40. the tack will be advanced into setting position upon the top of the anvil and between the tack-holding portions 72 of the jaws 72, and the button Wlll be pushed into the button-holding cavity in the buttonholding jaws 43. lVhen the tack and button are so positioned, the cam 12 will operate upon the roller 13 and through arm 9 and lever 6 will move plunger 5 downward.

, The plunger in its descent will carry with. it

the outer end of the lever 67 and thereby cause the descent of the jaw carrier 65 and with it the jaws 72, the tack holding portions 72' of which, riding over the conical end 80 of the anvil, will be separated as they are lowered and will release the tack, (see Fig. 6), the plunger 5 and with it the button-holding jaws 43 and the button, continuing in their descent meanwhile and completing the setting of the button upon the material. When the setting operation is completed, the tack-holding jaws 72 will rise. and their tack-engaging portions 72' will engage the edges of the lower surface of the tack head and will raise the tack and with it the button and the fabric to which it is attached off of the anvil and will return to normal tack-engaging position, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

This series of operations will be repeated in cycle as often as the clutch pedal is de pressed to perform a single button setting operation each time. or. if the clutch operating pedal is hold depressed, the cycle of operations willbe indefinitely repeated so that in the latter case, the buttons will be set upon the material to which they are to be applied in a continuous manner. but spaced according to the movement imparted to the material by the operator bet-ween each completed setting operation.

It will of course be understood that all of the cams hereinbcfore mentioned are so positioned upon the shaft 15 as to impart. proper timing'to the various mechanisms. which they are designed to op'rate.

From the above description of the operation of the machine. it will be seen that there are, among others, two main features which distinguish its operation from that of other machines heretofore known designed for a similar purpose, These two features are first, the releasing of the tack by the positive withdrawal of the tack-holding jaws from holding relation thereto. whereby failure of the jaws to release the tack is impossible, and, second, the raising of the tack and with it the material andthe. set button oil of the anvil by the action of the tack-holding portions of the jaws in their return to normal position. These two features and their attendant results preclude the possibility of jamming of the machine during operation, and make unnecessary any exertion upon the part of the operator in moving and positioning the material on which the buttons'are to be set. Moreover, asdistinguished from those machines previously referred to, in which pressure of the material upon the jaws is depended upon for moving them to tack-releasing position, the above-mentioned features of the invention tend to lessen strain and wear upon the material and preclude the possibility of its becoming pinched or caught by the parts of the machine and its consequent tearing or defacement.

Although we have herein shown and described a particular embodiment of our invention, we do not consider it as limited thereto, except as hereinafter pointed out in the claims.

What we claim is 1. In a tack-fastened-button attaching machine, a setting anvil, a setting plunger, means for supplying and positioning a tack upon said anvil, means for supplying and positioning a button with respect to said plunger, and positively actuated tack-holding means mounted upon and carried by said anvil and movable relatively thereto for releasing the tack in timed relation to the setting operation of said machine.

2. In a tack-fastened-button attaching machine, a stationary setting anvil, a reciprocating setting plunger, means for suplying and positioning a tack upon said anvil, means for supplying and positioning a button with respect to said plunger, tackholding means mounted upon and carried by said anvil movable with respect thereto, and means for positively actuating said tackholding means in timed relation to the reciprocation of said plunger.

3. In a tack-fastened-button attaching machine, a stationary setting anvil, a reciprocating setting plunger, means for supplying and positioning a tack upon said anvil, means for supplying and positioning a button with respect to said plunger. an a pair of positively actuated tack-holding jaws mounted upon and carried by said anvil and movable in timed relation with respect to the reciprocation of said plunger.

4:. In a tack-fastened-button attaching machine, a stationary setting anvil, a reciprocatin g setting plunger, means for supplying and positioning a tack upon said anvil, means for supplying and positioning a button with respect to said plunger, a jaw carrier carried by said anvil and movable with respect thereto and carrying a pair of tack-holding jaws, and means including a cam and lever mechanism for imparting reciprocatory movement to said jaw carrier and with it said jaws in timed relation to the reciprocation of said plunger.

5. In a tack-fastened-button attaching machine, a stationary setting anvil, a reciprocating setting plunger, means for supplying and positioning a tack upon said anvil, means for supplying and positioning a button with respect to said plunger, a jaw carrier mounted upon and slidable with respect to said anvil and carrying a pair 0 spring-pressed tack-holding jaws, and means including a cam and lever mechanism for imparting sliding movement to said carrier upon said anvil to impart tack releasing movement to said tack-holding jaws n timed relation to the reciprocation of said plunger.

6. In a tack-fastened-button attaching machine, a stationary setting anvil, means for positioning a tack upon said anvil, a pair of tack-holding jaws mounted upon and carried by said anvil for vertical reciprocation with respect thereto and normally engaging said tack, and means or positively reciprocating said jaws, whereby upon their descent they will release said tack and upon their subsequent ascent will raise said tack from said anvil.

7. In a tack-fastened-button attach ng machine, a stationary setting anvil, a aw carrier mounted for longitudinal sliding movement with respect thereto, a pair 0 tack-holding jaws pivotally mounted on said carrier and slidable therewith, a lever operatively connected with said jaw carrier, a cam for positively actuating sai lever and through it said jaw carrier to. move the same and with it said tack-holding jaws, and manually operable means comprising an arm and a link connected with said lever for manually actuating said jaw carrier independently of the operation of said cam.

8. In a tack-fastened-button attaching machine, a stationary setting anvil, a reciprocating setting plunger, means for supplying and positioning a tack upon said anvil, means for supplying and positioning a button with respect to said plunger, a pair of tack-holding jaws mounted (1 carried by said anvil and adapted to normally engage the tack to hold it in position upon said anvil, and means for positively reciprocating said jaws whereby as said plunger descends carrying with it said button to perform the setting operation, said jaws will be positively moved out of tack-holding position as said tack enters said button.

9. In a tack-fastened-bntton attaching machine, a stationary setting anvil, a reciprocating setting plunger, means for supply ing and positioning a tack upon said anvil, means for supplyingand positioning a button with respect to said plunger, a pair of tack-holdingjaws mounted upon and carried by said anvil and adapted to normally engage the tack to hold it in position upon said anvil, and means for positively reciprocating said jaws whereby as said plunger descends carrying with it said button to perform the setting operation, said jaws will be positively moved out of tack-holding position as said tack enters said button and after the completion of the setting operation said jaws will be returned to tack-engaging position and during such return will raise the tack and with it the set button oil of said anvil.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 24th day of November A. D. 1922-.

FRANK E. WARNER. AUGUSTUS H. GO-SGROVE. l/Vitnesses:

PERCY WARNER, EDWARD MoCANN. 

